The Oratory of the Good Shepherd (1913)

The aim of
the Oratory is the adoration of God in the service of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the imitation of his most holy life. Its fellowship and
discipline are intended to encourage and direct its members in
achieving this aim. Their membership will remind them that they can
carry out their vocation of worship and service only in communion
with the Good Shepherd and in the power of the Holy Spirit, They
will seek in the Oratory these blessings for themselves and will
order their lives for the strengthening of their brethren in
accordance with the Notes which follow.

1. Fellowship:

The first note of its
life is fellowship. Individual members will endeavour to merge their
lives in the corporate life of the Oratory, so that they will feel
incomplete without it and the Oratory incomplete without them.
Brethren will find and maintain in the Oratory a true Christian
family in love and mutual service. Each member's work will be an
element in the work of the whole. Members will seek the advice of
the Oratory in meeting personal problems and difficulties; and in
undertaking additional or new work, the corporate life of the
Oratory and the College will be taken into account. Brethren must be
prepared for criticism as well as encouragement when they ask for
advice.

The corporate
life of the Oratory will be expressed in the common observance of
the Rule, in the sympathy of common work and in the daily fellowship
of prayer and sacrament. This fellowship will be deepened by
understanding and affection between the Colleges, so that the whole
Oratory may grow into a holy temple in the Lord.

2. Liberty:

The Oratory
will allow full scope for the development of individual talents
while insisting on fellowship as the first note of its life. It will
encourage its members to develop their personal gifts and thus to
enrich the offering laid at the feet of Christ. The same liberty
will be claimed for an Oratory College as for an individual.

3. Stewardship:

Members of
the Oratory will always strive to regard material possessions, as
well as spiritual and personal gifts, as a stewardship of wealth to
be consecrated to the service of God. Brethren are not required to
renounce worldly possessions or to surrender positions of influence
or moderate comfort, but they are required to render an account of
their stewardship, and if necessary the Oratory will criticize or
condemn.

4. Labour of the
Mind:

Its birth in
a University and the learned tradition in religious communities give
the Oratory a duty of thought and study. Members will endeavour to
worship God with their minds as well as with heart and soul. They
will be fearless in following truth, and will constantly try to
express it, so that Christ may be fully presented as thought and
word allow. They will have a private rule of reading. Each brother
will seek according to his ability to bring new thought and
knowledge under the discipline of Christ, and to interpret them to a
better understanding of the loving purposes of God.

5. The Love that
makes for Peace:

The
foundation of Oratory life will be that mutual love which has always
been the essence of community life in the Catholic Church. The
unfailing love of its members one towards another will be increased
by extending this love to all men, whether within the Church or
without it. Members will have a concern for living interests and
problems in Church and State, and in discussing opinions which
differ from their own will avoid harsh judgments. Brethren must try
to understand these differing opinions , in the hope that they may
help to restore the unity of all Christian people in the spirit of
charity and peace. They will recognise in all men those for whom
Christ died, and will treat them with the courtesy and reverence due
to his great love.

"It is the right good old way you are in; keep
in it." - Nicholas Ferar window, Little Gidding Chapel

6. Discipline:

Members of
the Oratory are men under authority, pledged to assist in
maintaining its common discipline. They will be particularly careful
in the practice of internal discipline and surrender to the will of
God, which it is the purpose of the Oratory to assist them to
attain, and in submitting to the degree of corporate control
demanded by the Oratory and their College. Each brother will have a
share in the formation of that common mind, and will accept it in a
spirit of love and loyalty, and in confidence in the combined
experience of the whole fellowship. It is his duty to see that his
own contribution to the corporate mind of the Oratory will
strengthen the authority of the whole society over individual
members.

7. Joy:

Members of the
Oratory will regularly make thanksgiving to God for his love until
thanksgiving be spontaneous and perpetual. They will be regular in
recreation; they will avoid anxiety and fuss; they will disown
discouragement and depression, and check all complaint and
bitterness as destructive of the brethren's joy as well of their
own. They will accept gladly their share of weariness and sorrow in
the joyful spirit of the saints, and the faithful following of him
who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross. They will
welcome any labour or sacrifice which will minister to the joy of
others, looking toward that most blessed voice, "Well done, good and
faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

The
Oratory of the Good Shepherd (OGS) is an international community of
Anglicans, ordained and lay,
who share a common Rule of Life. The OGS Rule calls
members of the Oratory to daily Communion,
Private Prayer, and the
Office. It encourages the labour of the mind, fellowship,
and the
faithful stewardship of talents and resources.